Generally, ginseng is classified into green ginseng, white ginseng and red ginseng. Green ginseng is fresh ginseng which has not been dried after being dug from the ground, and white ginseng is obtained by removing fine root hair from the green ginseng, paring the ginseng, and then drying the pared ginseng in the sun. Red ginseng, the most significant among ginsen-related products, is obtained through a steaming process. Here, the color of the red ginseng is formed by a non-enzymatic browning reaction in the steaming process, particularly, an amino-carbonyl reaction and an automatic oxidation of polyphenol, and the above browning provide excellent characteristics to the ginseng.
According to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO), red ginseng, green ginseng and white ginseng commonly include 18 types of pharmaceutically effective components such as ginsenoside, Ro, Ra.sub.1, Ra.sub.2, Ra.sub.3, Rb.sub.2, Rb.sub.3, Rc, Rd, Re, Rf, Rg.sub.1, Rg.sub.2, Rg.sub.3, Gh.sub.1, 20glc-Rf, Q-R.sub.1 and N-R.sub.1. Also, malonyl-Rb.sub.1, malonyl-Rb.sub.2, malonyl-Rc and malonyl-Rd are known to be included only in green ginseng and white ginseng, and Rs.sub.1, Rs.sub.2, Rg.sub.3 (S), Rh.sub.2, N-R.sub.4, Rg.sub.2 (R), Rh.sub.1 (R) and Rh.sub.4 are known to be included only in red ginseng. Thus, it is regarded that the medicinal effects of ted ginseng originates from 8 types of these components newly synthesized from the components included in green ginseng and white ginseng.
Ginseng, which has been used as a tonic in the Far East for a long time, is used in more than 500 prescription drugs among about 2000 basic prescriptions in traditional herbal medicine. Also, research into the medicinal effects of the ginseng as a mysterious plant has been conducted for about 100 years. Full-scale research into ginseng began when it was discovered that the medicinal effects of ginseng originates from saponin.
Saponin including a sapogenin as a non-sugar component continuously generates foam when agitated in a solution, and causes hemolysis. Also, saponin may stimulate a mucous membrane depending on circumstances and acts as a harmful factor to a blood vessel by forming a complex with blood cholesterol.
Generally, saponin of the ginseng has a useful medicinal effect rather than a toxic effect unlike the above-described general characteristics of saponin. However, the saponin of ginseng may cause a side effect depending on the human being. In the field of traditional herbal medicine, the physical constitution of a human being is classified into several types and a specific physical constitution to avoid taking ginseng is prescribed. Also, western medicine has reported the side effects of ginseng. As an example, a species of ginseng includes epedrin which causes a rise in blood pressure, metrorrhagia, ventricular arrhythmia if taken for an extended period of time. According to a clinical study, it is reported that the above symptoms disappear when the intake of ginseng stops. Thus, the ginseng has been recognized as inappropriate for persons with high blood pressure.
Generally, bad feces, occurrence of fever, headaches or stimulation is known as side effects of ginseng. However, it has also been reported that the side effects of ginseng are considerably decreased through a process, e.g., a thermal process, compared with the case when ginseng is taken raw. Here, it is believed that this is because a high density component is changed into a low density component by the thermal process and side effects of various components of ginseng are neutralized by the thermal process.
Thus, when ginseng is processed, e.g, ginseng is boiled in water before being taken, troubles with digestion and metabolism can be slightly overcome while maintaining the medicinal effect of ginseng. However, the above processing method cannot solve the side effects of ginseng completely, so that traditional herbal medicine has prohibited patients with a cardiac disorder, a kidney disorder or allergies from taking ginseng. Also, research into materials which enable suppression of the side effects of ginseng by being used together with ginseng has not been conducted.
Also, generally, the ginseng is used and commercialized without being generally-processed and has a strong aroma. Thus, the ginseng may not be acceptable depending upon the race of the user. The acceptability of ginseng tea by human beings from all parts of the world was investigated twice. That is, the acceptability of ginseng tea in taste and aroma was investigated with respect to the visitors of the Geneva Invention Conference (1986) and Tokyo Invention Conference (1988). As a result, the acceptability with respect to taste and aroma of the ginseng tea was very low to Western people while acceptance was considerably high by the Japanese. Also, the acceptability by the Chinese was higher than that by the Japanese. Thus, it is difficult to commercialize the ginseng as a worldwide health food or a delicacy, without making the taste to be acceptable to persons of all race.
The Applicant has practiced traditional herbal medicine for about 30 years and has studied ginseng processing methods for about 10 years with confidence that the ginseng has favorable effects regardless of the physical characteristics of the human being. Also, the inventor has conducted research on a material which can be added in the processing of ginseng in order to suppress the side effects of the ginseng and offset the strong aroma. First, various edible plants were selectively added during the processing of the ginseng in order to find a material which can offset the strong aroma of the ginseng. Then, the ginseng processed together with the selected plant was taken by the human being exhibiting side effects of the ginseng, resulting in a remarkable effect.